A few basics you could get started with:
The paper needs to be pulped, so requires a paddle mixer or bladed mixer. A rotating drum cement mixer is no good. Once pulped, cement is added, briefly mixed in, and the mix poured into moulds. Its generally used as poured walls, cast into blocks, or drained & daubed onto metal framework. Papercrete can be used as mortar between papercrete blocks.
The most common mix is paper pulp, portland cement and sand. Sandless mixes maximise insulation. The lime content in the cement rotproofs the paper, so this property might (I've not tested it) be compromised by addition of pozzolans. A fairly wide range of different waste & raw material streams can be added to papercrete, they do modify the properties of course.
If poured and not compressed, the mix shrinks as it dries out. As water runs out of the mould, the cement stays behind due to the filtering action of the paper pulp. My own testing showed that compressing the material in the mould made a big improvement in compressive strength, and enabled immediate demoulding.
Papercrete is somewhat similar to AAC, its a very porous structure with so-so compressive strength and poor tensile strength, and good insulation. Its long term rotproof. It bends slightly before it fails completely, making it possible to embed glass in it, as ASR doesn't cause failure. This property also makes papercrete bulletproof, and means that screws can be screwed straight in to it. Nailing doesn't work.
A wide range of cement percentages are used, depending on cost and final compressive strength required.
--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, "kurto" <dumtruk_0988@...> wrote:
>
> Hi! I'm Kurt, I'm from the Philippines. I've just come across with papercrete just recently, like last month. This new technology for construction is very interesting and it also helps in the advancement of green technology. I'm currently running a company that is into scrap paper trading. Most of our papers are shipped to paper mills for paper recycling. Using paper fibers as an ingredient for making concrete is a new technology here in the philippines.
>
> I'd like to ask if you guys could give guidelines and tips in the production of papercrete. We are still in the research stage right now, and any information that you guys could give will of great help and really much appreciated.
>
> Any additional info based on your experiences in constructing and the making of paper mash, the mixture, the ingredients for binding the concrete, the percentage of mixture, and the form will be really much appreciated. What additives are placed to make papercrete fire-resistant and will it stand in a tropical country like ours?
>
> Hope to hear feedback from you guys. Thanks.
>
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